Poaching, cyanide fishing threaten Komodo National Park

Poaching, cyanide fishing threaten Komodo National Park

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): Once upon a time when man lived in complete
harmony with the animals, a reptile queen named Putri Naga
succumbed to the irresistible charms of Najo, a local fisherman.
Soon the couple gave birth to twins, one of whom was a little boy
and the other a dragon.

The origin of this legend may have been long forgotten but not
the special bond between man and the unique Komodo dragon which
has prevailed ever since. To this day the people of Komodo Island
believe that if the dragon disappears from their island they will
perish too.

Located between the island of Sumbawa and the island of Flores
in the Lesser Sundas region, the home of the dragon lies in the
center of the archipelago and is today a protected site. The
Komodo National Park was established in 1977 and declared a World
Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by the United
Nations in 1991, with the main purpose of conserving the dragon
and its natural habitat.

While conservationists were attempting to save the last
remaining habitat of the Komodo dragon, they also discovered that
the area has biodiversity of global significance. It harbors more
than 1000 fish species, about 260 species of reef-building
corals, sea turtles, manta rays and 14 species of whales and
dolphins.

However, fishermen from other parts of the country constantly
threaten the park's resources by using unsustainable fishing
techniques like blasting, cyanide fishing and reef gleaning.
Poaching for deer and wild buffalo, both important prey for the
Komodo dragons, poses additional problems for the environment
there.

For the past two decades, the Directorate General for Nature
Conservation and Protection has implemented a variety of programs
to enable the 1,817 km park, of which 603 km is land and 1,214 km
sea, to survive for the benefit of those to come. The park
includes the three large islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar and
many smaller islands, and also functions as a source of
livelihood for the 3,300 people within the park and the
approximately 17,000 people living around it, most of whom depend
on squid fishing.

Extremely concerned at the rapid devastation taking place, the
directorate five years ago invited The Nature Conservancy (TNC),
a U.S. based non-governmental organization,to lend assistance.
And along with the TNC came Rili Djohani.

Born of Indonesian parents in Holland, Rili arrived in
Indonesia without knowing a word of Bahasa.

"I was not returning in search of my roots. I just looked upon
the assignment as a good job offer," Rili, director of the
Indonesia Coastal and Marine Program, told The Jakarta Post.

A graduate of Leiden University, Rili recalls growing up in
Holland just like other Dutch children. Hers was not a terribly
ethnic family.

Although her mother did work at the Museum Nusantara in Delft
where she was surrounded by Indonesian art and culture, there was
never any pressure on the children to adopt Indonesian ways and
their interest in Indonesian language and culture remained very
much academic. The family even communicated with each other in
Dutch.

Rili's first love was nature and biology, specializing in
rainforests and coral reefs. But Indonesia was still faraway from
her thoughts as she did her field research on the islands of the
Netherlands Antilles and grew up watching wide-eyed the coral
reef documentaries made by Jacques Cousteau, inventor of scuba
diving equipment.

Her first introduction to Indonesia was an assignment with the
World Wild Life Fund here almost a decade ago. Today she looks
back on that job as her karma to return to where she really
belongs. She can't imagine living anywhere else but here,
especially as she finds her job immensely rewarding.

"There is so much to do here and the thought that we can make
even a little bit of difference makes the work all the more
meaningful," she says.

The latest feather in her cap is the enthusiastic acceptance
of TNC's 25-year management plan for the Komodo National Park
that includes a comprehensive strategy for enforcement,
awareness, alternative livelihood projects and monitoring.

What thrills Rili most is the active participation of local
communities and the local government in this long-term plan which
is expected to help to identify and address emerging threats. The
hope is that eventually the Komodo National Park will serve as a
model for other protected areas in a country that is the world's
fourth most populous nation and largest archipelago.

One of the richest genetic storehouses on earth, Indonesia's
reefs and rainforests are home to 35 percent of all fish species
and 17 percent of all terrestrial species. Unfortunately, the
country also has the world's longest list of species threatened
with extinction, including 126 birds, 63 mammals and 21 reptiles.

Nearly half of Asia's remaining rainforests are found here and
the challenge is to manage in a meaningful manner all the areas
that are declared protected. Of course, the most important task
of all is ensuring that man never lives to see the tragic day
when he is forced to separate from his beloved twin brother, the
Komodo dragon.